Spray mist dispensing apparatus



July 27, 1965 s. KRAMER SPRAY MIST DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed June 25,1963 I STANLEY KRAMER United States Patent 3,197,145 SPRAY MISTDISPENSWG APPARATUS Stanley Kramer, Cherry Hill, N.J., assignor to SalonSpray System, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of PennsylvaniaFiled June 25, 1963, Ser. No. 299,423 8 Claims. (Cl. 239-415) Ingeneral, this invention relates to a new and improved spray mistdispensing apparatus and more particularly to a spray mist dispensingnozzle capable of directing a liquid spray without initial dripping ordivergent scattering.

In the modern beauty salon, a hairdresser will spray a hair set mist onthe customers coifiure to hold it in place. The spray is achieved bydispensing air through a nozzle and directing it at a continuouslydispensed liquid so as to create a fine mist which is controlled by thehairdresser.

However, in the past, the liquid lotion for the hair spray wouldinitially drip before becoming a mist. Additionally, since the lotionwas also dispensed through a nozzle, the pressure from the air nozzlewould cooperate with the pressure from the liquid or lotion nozzle toscatter the resultant spray-liquid droplet mixture in a direction notintended by the hairdresser.

Therefore, it is the general object of this invention to avoid andovercome the foregoing and other difiiculties of prior art practices bythe provision of a new and better spray mist dispensing apparatus.

A further object is the provision of new and better spray mistdispensing apparatus which will automatically eliminate initial drippingor scattering from the air in liquid nozzles.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a new andmore simple spray mist dispensing apparatus which can be simply andeasily operated and cleaned with little or no effort.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a more simple andbetter spray mist dispensing apparatus wherein the direction of spray isautomatically determined by the direction of the air nozzle.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in thedrawings a form which is presently preferred; it being understood,however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangementsin instrumentalities shown.

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the spray mist dispensing apparatus ofthe present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a cross sectional view of the apparatus of FIGURE 1 takenalong lines 22.

FIGURE 3 is a cross sectional view of the apparatus of FIGURES 1 and 2taken along lines 33 in FIG- URE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a cross sectional view of the apparatus of the presentinvention taken along lines 44 in FIG- URE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional view of the apparatus of the presentinvention taken along lines 5-5 in FIG- URE 3. a

In FIGURE 1, the the spray mist dispensing apparatus of the presentinvention is generally designated by the numeral 10. The apparatusincludes a main body 12 which is substantially rectangular. Extendingoutwardly from one face 13 of the main body 12 is a liquid nozzleextension 16. The liquid nozzle extension 16 supports a liquiddispensing nozzle 14 parallel to the face 13.

On the face 13 and in line with the liquid dispensing nozzle 14 is asuitable air dispensing nozzle 18. The air dispensing nozzle 18 isspaced from and perpendicular to ife the liquid dispensing nozzle 14 andin the same horizontal plane.

The liquid dispensing nozzle receives liquid such as a hair spray lotionthrough a suitable conduit 20 which shall be generally designated as aliquid supply means. The air nozzle 18 receives pressurized air througha suitable conduit 22 which shall be generally designated as apressurized air supply means.

The conduits 20 and 22 are removably secured to bushings 24 and 26respectively so that the apparatus 10 can be utilized with other typesof hair spray lotions in accordance with the desires of a customer.

The dispensing apparatus 10 includes an actuator 28 mounted above themain body 12 and supported by the air valve stem 32. The valve stem 32is threadably engaged with the actuator '28. Additionally, a liquidvalve stem 30 is provided which has a lost motion connection withtheactuator 28 by reason of an enlarged recess 34. The actuator 28 isspaced from the main body 12 by' the air valve stem 32 a distancegreater than the space between the end of liquid valve stem 30 and thebottom of;

axial movement by a suitable O-ring 40. The air valve stem 32'is sealedfor vertical movement in the bore 38 by O-ring 42. The bore 36 widens atits lower end to form a valve seat 43. An O-ring 44 on the valve stem30' rests against the valve seat 43 in the closed position showninFIGURE 3. The bore 38 widens at its lower end into a Valve seat 45against which rests an O-ring- 46 connected to valve stem 32. The valvestem 32 is shown in its closed position in FIGURE 3.

The valve stems 30 and 32 are expanded to form guide heads 48 and 50respectively which will cooperate with.

the O-rings 44 and 46 and valve seats 43 and 45 to seal the bores 36 and38 when the actuater 28 is in the position shown in FIGURE 3.

The guide portions 48 and 50 each have four outwardly extending keys 52and 54 respectively which maintain the valve stems 30 and 32 in fixedalignment for move ment only in a vertical direction. The valve stems3i) and 32 are biased to the closed position shown in FIG URE 3 bysuitable springs 56 and 58 placed between the guide heads 48 and 50 andbushings 24 and 26 respectively. The liquid nozzle 14 is connected tothe bore 36 between O-ring 40 and 44 by a passage 64 extending from bore36 into extension 16 and terminating at a needle valve 66 within theextension 16. -The needle valve 66 controls the flow of liquid throughpassage .64 to a passage 68 leading to liquid nozzle 14.

The pressurized air nozzle 18 receives air from bore 38 intermediateO-rings 42 and 46 through a suitable passageway 70 extending betweennozzle 18 and bore 38.

In operation, the conduit 20 supplies hair set lotion through thebushing 24 behind the O-ring 44. Similarly, pressurized air is fedthrough conduit 22 and bushing 26 behind O-ring 46. a

The hairdresser need only press downwardly on actuator 28 to directlyreceive a hair spray mist without dripping or scattering. Pressing ofactuator 28 moves valve stem 32 downwardly and removes O-ring 46 fromvalve seat 45. Air under pressure is then passed through bore 38 intopassageway 70 andout nozzle 18.

The valve stem 30 is not immediately actuated by downward movement ofactuator 28 because of recess 34.

The recess 34 provides a lost motion connection between.

the actuator 28 and the valve stem 30. After pressurized air istransmitted through nozzle 18, the continued downward movement ofactuater 28 moves valve stem downwardly unseating O-ring 44 from valveseat 43.

Liquid hair set lotion then passes upward through bore 36 and passageway64 into passageway 68 in accordance with the setting of needle valve 66.This liquid then passes out of liquid nozzle 14 and in a direction per-.pendicular to the flow of pressurized air from air nozzle 18.Pressurized air having been previously transmitted through nozzle 18,instantly forms a mist of the liquid dispensed through nozzle 14.The'liquid will not drip from nozzle 14 as the pressurized air willalready be passing immediately in front of it. Also, the pressure fromthe liquid nozzle will not have an opportunity to cause scattering ofthe resultant mist as no liquid droplets will be formed and theresultant direction of the fiow of mist will be determined by the airspray nozzle 18.

There are times, when solid material may build up within the liquid flowpath causing clogging of the spray mist dispensing apparatus. .In orderto clean the path 68 and the nozzle 14, it is only necessary to removethe needle valve 66 and push a wire through the path 68 till it iscleaned. Further, the nozzle '14 is screw threaded to the extension 16and can be separately removed if necessary.

- To clean the pathr64, a second path 72 has been pro vided in the mainbody 12 in line with the path 64 and extending from a'face 73 oppositefrom face 13 of main body 12. The path 72 has one end closed by asuitable plug hole screw 74. Additionally, a'hole. 76 has been 76 andpath 64, thepath '64 can befunclogged without the necessity, of removingthe valve stem. The hole 76 does not in any way interfere with theoperation of the dispensing apparatus.

Theair passage 70 can be easily cleaned by removing the air nozzle 18which is screw threaded into the main body 12.

Thevalve stems can be removed by removing the bushings 24 and 26 whichare screw threadedly secured into the main body 12. Once the valve stem30 has been removed, the actuator 28 can be unscrewed from the valvestem 32 thus permitting the stem 32 to be removed through theopeningprovided by the removal of bushing 26. In this way, the entiredispensing apparatus can be simply and easily cleaned when necessary.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and,accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, ratherthan to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of theinvention.

I claim: V

1. Spray mist dispensing apparatus comprising a main body, a liquiddispensing nozzle projecting outwardly from said main body, apressurized air dispensing nozzle spaced from said liquid dispensingnozzle and projecting outwardly from said main body, mounting means formounting said liquid dispensing nozzle on said main body spaced fromsaid air dispensing nozzle with the longitudinal axis of said andispensing nozzle intersecting the. longitudinal axis of said liquiddispensing nozzle, .liquid supply means for supplying liquid to saidliquid dispensing nozzle, air supply means for supplying air to said airdispensing nozzle, a pair of parallel, longitudinally extending boresthrough said main body, means communia cating said liquid supply meansand said air supply means a with one end of one of said parallel boresrespectively, means communicating said air and liquid dispensing nozzleswith one of said parallel bores respectively, air valve means in one ofsaid bores intermediateits ends for con-' trolling the flow of air fromsaid air supply means to said air dispensing nozzle, liquid valve meansin the other of said bores intermediate its ends for controlling theflow of liquid from said liquid supply means to said liquid dispensingnozzle, a valve actuator above said main body, said valve actuator beingoperative to simultaneously control said liquid and air valve means,said valve actuator being integrally coupled to said air valve means,said valve actuator being connected to said liquid valve means through alost motion device, biasing means in said body for biasing said liquidand air valve means to a closed position preventing the flow of liquidand air to said liquid dispensing nozzle and said air dispensing nozzle,said actuator being operative upon movement thereof in one directionthrough said lost motiondevice to open said air valve means to supplyair from said air supply means through said air dispensing nozzle beforeopening said liquid valve means to supply liquid from said liquid supplymeans to said liquid dispensing nozzle and operative upon movement in anopposite direction through said lost motion device to close said liquidvalve means before closing said air valve means.

2. The spray mist dispensing apparatus of claim 1 wherein said air valvemeans includes an air valve stem projecting upwardly from said main bodythrough one of said bores, means th-readedly connecting said air valvestem to said actuator, said liquid valve means including a liquid valvestem projecting upwardly from said main body through the other of saidbores, said liquid valve stem being spaced from an abutment surface ofsaid actuator, said actuator being mounted for movement toward and awayfrom said liquid valve stem, said actuator being operative to linearlydisplace said liquid valve stem after engagement of said abutmentsurface with said liquid valve stem.

3. Spray mist dispensing apparatus of claim 2 wherein said means forconnecting said airvalve stem to said actuator includes a screw threadedrecess cooperative withscrew threads on said air valve stem forthreadably engaging said actuator to said air valve stem, said actuatorhaving a second recess on the same side thereof as said screw threadedrecess, said second recess having a greater cross sectional area thansaid liquid valve stem, said liquid'valve stern extending therein, saidair and liquid valve stems being mounted in said main body forreciprocal "movement therein, said actuator being spaced from said mainbody when said air and liquid valve means" are biased to a closedposition, said liquid valve stem being spaced from the bottom of saidsecond recess a distance less than said space between said actuator andsaid main body when said air and liquid valve means are biased to aclosed position.

4. The spray mist dispensing apparatus of claim 1 wherein said main bodyincludes .a first surface, an extension integral with said firstsurface, said extension having a second surface thereon perpendicular tosaid first surface,

said air dispensing nozzle and said liquid dispensing nozzle beingmounted on said first and second surfaces respectively, said air andliquid dispensing nozzles being located in the same horizontal planes,said air dispensing nozzle being directed at the front of said liquiddispensing nozzle. 7

5. The spray mist dispensing apparatus of claim 4 including a needlevalve in said main body between said liquid valve means and said liquiddispensing nozzle, said liquid dispensing nozzle having a longitudinalpassageway therethrough connected to said needle valve, said needlevalve including a longitudinal passageway extending from said liquiddispensing nozzle passageway to a surface of said extension oppositefrom said second surface whereby said liquid dispensing nozzlepassageway can be cleaned by removing said needle valve.

6. The spray dispensing apparatus of claim 5 wherein said liquid valvemeans includes a liquid valve stem, said liquid valve stem being mountedfor reciprocable movement in said bores, said needle valve beingconnected to said liquid valve stem bore by a connecting passageway,

said main body having a clean out passageway. in line with saidconnecting passageway extending from said liquid valve stem bore to a.third surface opposite from said first surface on said main body, and aclean out passageway plug, said clean out passageway plug beingremovably secured within said clean out passageway adjacent said thirdsurface.

7. The spray mist dispensing apparatus of claim 6 including liquid valvestem key means, said liquid valve stem key means preventing rotativemovement of said liquid valve stem in said bore and permittinglongitudinal movement thereof, said liquid valve stem having a holetherethrough, said biasing means biasing said liquid valve stem to aclosed position, said liquid valve stem hole being in line with saidconnecting passageway and said clean out passageway when said liquidvalve stem is biased to a closed position.

8. The spray mist dispensing apparatus of claim 1 wherein said air Valvemeans and liquid valve means includes a stern projecting upwardly fromsaid main body through each bore, said air valve stem being threadedlyconnected to said valve actuator, said liquid valve stem being connectedto said valve actuator through a lost motion device, an O-ring seal oneach valve stem between each valve means and the end of each borethrough which stem extends, said means communicating said nozzles withsaid bores respectively including conduits Within said main body openinginto said bores between said O-ring seals and valve means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS EVERETT W. KIRBY,Primary Examiner.

1. A SPRAY MIST DISPENSING APPARATUS COMPRISING A MAIN BODY, A LIQUIDDISPENSING NOZZLE PROJECTING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID MAIN BODY, APRESSURIZED AIR DISPENSING NOZZLE SPACED FROM SAID LIQUID DISPENSINGNOZZLE AND PROJECTING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID MAIN BODY, MOUNTING MEANS FORMOUNTING SAID LIQUID DISPENSING NOZZLE ON SAID MAIN BODY SPACED FROMSAID AIR DISPENSING NOZZLE WITH THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID AIRDISPENSING NOZZLE INTERSECTING THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID LIQUIDDISPENSING NOZZLE, LIQUID SUPPLY MEANS FOR SUPPLYING LIQUID TO SAIDLIQUID DISPENSING NOZZLE, AIR SUPPLY MEANS FOR SUPPLYING AIR TO SAID AIRDISPENSING NOZZLE, A PAIR OF PARALLEL, LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING BORESTHROUGH SAID MAIN BODY, MEANS COMMUNICATING SAID LIQUID SUPPLY MEANS ANDSAID AIR SUPPLY MEANS WITH ONE END OF ONE OF SAID PARALLEL BORESRESPECTIVELY, MEANS COMMUNICATING SAID AIR AND LIQUID DISPENSING NOZZLESWITH ONE OF SAID PARALLEL BORES RESPECTIVELY, AIR VALVE MEAN IN ONE OFSAID BORES INTERMEDIATE ITS ENDS FOR CONTROLLING THE FLOW OF AIR FROMSAID AIR SUPPLY MEANS TO SAID AIR DISPENSING NOZZLE, LIQUID VALVE MEANSIN THE OTHER OF SAID BORES INTERMEDIATE ITS ENDS FOR CONTROLLING THEFLOW OF LIQUID FROM SAID LIQUID SUPPLY MEANS TO SAID LIQUID DISPENSINGNOZZLE, A VALVE ACTUATOR ABOVE SAID MAIN BODY, SAID VALVE ACTUATOR BEINGOPERATIVE TO SIMULTANEOUSLY CONTROL SAID LIQUID AND AIR VALVE MEANS,SAID VALVE ACTUATOR BEING INTEGRALLY COUPLED TO SAID AIR VALVE MEANS,SAID VALVE ACTUATOR BEING CONNECTED TO SAID LIQUID VALVE MEANS THROUGH ALOST MOTION DEVICE, BIASING MEANS IN SAID BODY FOR BIASING SAID LIQUIDAND AIR VALVE MEANS TO A CLOSED POSITION PREVENTING THE FLOW OF LIQUIDAND AIR TO SAID LIQUID DISPENSING NOZZLE AND SAID AIR DISPENSING NOZZLE,SAID ACTUATOR BEING OPERATIVE UPON MOVEMENT THEREOF IN ONE DIRECTIONTHROUGH SAID LOST MOTION DEVICE TO OPEN SAID AIR VALVE MEANS TO SUPPLYAIR FROM SAID AIR SUPPLY MEANS THROUGH SAID AIR DISPENSING NOZZLE BEFOREOPENING SAID LIQUID VALVE MEANS TO SUPPLY LIQUID FROM SAID LIQUID SUPPLYMEANS TO SAAID LIQUID DISPENSING NOZZLE AND OPERATIVE UPON MOVEMENT INAN OPPOSITE DIRECTION THROUGH SAID LOST MOTION DEVICE TO CLOSE SAIDLIQUID VALVE MEANS BEFORE CLOSING SAID AIR VALVE MEANS.